OAN’s Brooke Mallory
5:27 PM – Thursday, January 11, 2024
The United States and the United Kingdom launched a series of retaliatory attacks against the Houthi rebels in Yemen on Thursday.
Bombs from Washington, D.C., and London struck a number of locations in Yemen that the Houthis, who are supported by Iran, were utilizing.
According to surfacing reports, the main cities in Yemen that were hit the hardest with U.S. and U.K. airstrikes were Sana’a, Hodeidah, Saada, Dhamar, Taiz, and Zabid.
Fighter planes and warships firing Tomahawk missiles were fired by U.S. and U.K. planes striking targets that included air defense installations, supply centers, and logistical hubs, the Associated Press reported.
The rebel group started attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea in late November, prompting the U.S. and U.K. to take direct, aggressive military action against the Houthis.
The United States refrained from hitting the Houthis in Yemen until this Thursday.
In an effort to safeguard commercial shipping, the U.S. formed a multi-nation maritime task force last month. However, the Houthis continued their attacks on ships and declared that the task force would not stop them.
The Houthis launched their largest drone and missile campaign to date earlier this week, aiming their attacks against commercial ships along with American and British warships. During the strike, allied troops from the United States and the United Kingdom shot down around twenty-one missiles and drones.
The attack in Yemen poses a risk of escalating into a larger conflict and is expected to incite the Houthis and Iran. Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in Gaza in early October, there has been a great deal of warfare throughout the region, with over 100 strikes against American soldiers in Syria and Iraq.
Groups with Iranian support assert that their attacks on the U.S. in the area are an act of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. Particularly, the Houthis maintain that U.S. and Israeli-backed ships are their targets.
Iran is expected to express outrage regarding the Yemen attacks that occurred on Thursday, as it considers the Houthis to be one of its most valuable proxy organizations in the Middle East. When the United States sank three Houthi vessels in the Red Sea at the end of December, Iran and the Houthis said they would retaliate violently.
There has been tremendous pressure on the Biden administration to stop the Houthi strikes in the Red Sea, which have hampered international trade. Major shipping firms have been compelled to detour around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope due to pressure from the Houthi group. Approximately 10% of commercial shipping passes via the Red Sea.
In addition, Washington, D.C., has had to decide whether to launch offensive operations in order to halt the Houthis or if the task force would be sufficient to safeguard cargo vessels and discourage the Houthis.
The extent to which the attacks have affected Houthi targets in Yemen is currently unknown. The rebel organization is well-versed in combat, having battled the Yemeni government for years, but they will most definitely still struggle from the joint effort by U.S. and U.K. military action.
After the strikes were conducted, Democrat Member of the House of the Representatives, Valerie Howell, released a statement declaring that the strikes were not authorized by Congress, and that the president needs to have congressional approval for any military strike.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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